We present a fault model for access control policies and a framework to explore it. The framework includes mutation operators used to implement the fault model, mutant generation, equivalent-mutant detection, and mutant-killing determination. This framework allows us to investigate our fault model, evaluate coverage criteria for test generation and selection, and determine a relationship between structural coverage and fault-detection effectiveness. We have implemented the framework and applied it to various XACML policies. Our experimental results offer valuable insights into choosing mutation operators in mutation testing and choosing coverage criteria in test generation and selection.